Sony is one of the biggest image sensor manufacturers for the photographic industry. They announced that their sensor plant in the Kumamoto region in Japan will resume production after an earthquake shut it down on April 14th of this year. This is good news as a longer shut down could have delayed the release of new camera models and lead to shortages of current models, too.

Canon announced the EF-M 28mm f3.5 macro IS STM with two controllable built in LED macro lights for it’s mirrorless M cameras. It offers a true 1:1 reproduction plus a 1.2x super macro mode and will retail for only $299 USD.

Fujifilm announced the Fujinon 2x Teleconverter XF2X TC WR that will work with the XF 50-140mm f2.8 and XF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 lenses and that will allow for a maximum equivalent field of view of up to 1,219mm in full frame comparison. The TC will slow the lens aperture down by 2 stops (f5.6 for the XF 50-140mm and f9-11 for the XF 100-400mm) and it will also disable the phase detection autofocus on the longer of the two zoom lenses.

Scott shares his ordeal with a broken camera and the Fuji US repair service and raises the question if the lack of Canon or Nikon style pro service offers may be the biggest caveat for pros who would want to switch to mirrorless cameras? Please share your service experiences from mirrorless camera manufacturers with us. And let us know if anyone of them offers a pro service similar to Canon’s CPS or Nikon’s NPS?

Scott is looking for a new interchangeable camera from a different brand to switch to. Please share your serious suggestions and tell us why this could be a good mirrorless camera for Scott?

Scott and Marco answer a listener question regarding focus peaking settings for more accurate results with less spill outside of the critical focus area.

We now have a Photofocus Mirrorless Flickr group that is open for our listeners and photos taken with all mirrorless camera brands. If you want to join just let us know through the “request invitation” button on the group and drop us a quick line there. We’ll add you to the group then. And please ask for the invite via web browser and not via the Flickr App. The invite process via the app has not been working reliably.

Please share this podcast with your friends and subscribe via iTunes. We would also love to get your feedback. Is there anything that you want us to cover on the show in the future? And we would appreciate if you could take a short moment to rate or to post a quick review on iTunes for us.

On the monthly #Mirrorless episode of the Photofocus podcast Scott and Marco will discuss the news from the mirrorless camera world related to innovations, trends, gear and accessories. And they will introduce mirrorless camera manufacturers by interviewing the respective managers of those manufacturers. And they invite pro photographers who make their living working with mirrorless cameras to share some tips and tricks on their workflow.

Marco Larousse is a fine art street and documentary photographer, a teacher, writer and speaker of photography related topics - MarcoLarousse.com. Marco has a background in photography of 30+ years.

Marco's approach to photography is "reduce to the basics and focus on the story and the subject." Growing up with the limitations that film photography has taught him, he still enjoys the basic approach to photography today. For Marco the camera is a tool and a mere extension of his instincts.

Marco is the producer and co-host of the Photofocus #Inspiration and #Mirrorless podcasts episodes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Scott, since the market appears to be waiting for significant mirrorless announcements by Fuji (XT-2), Canon (who knows, could finally get serious), Olympus (EM-2), and Panasonic (GH5), I would be reluctant to buy a new mirrorless till some of these are revealed.

I have split my mirrorless cameras between Olympus (EM5II mostly using the 9-18, and 12-40 lenses) & Panasonic ( primarily using the new 100-400, or the 25 f1.4 in low light). This combination has worked pretty well, and if a camera breaks, or is lost or stolen, the lenses are of course interchangeable.

Scott, enjoyed the program yesterday. I switched from Canon to Fuji and one thing I knew I was leaving behind was Canon CPS. I’m not a pro so I accepted the risk. Fortunately , I have not has the opportunity to check Fuji’s repair service but I now have concerns.
As for a new mirroless system I think you choices are limited, or non existent, if a CPS level of service is required. So Fuji didn’t cut it, Nikon is not a player and I would not be surprised if they were not around in 5 or 10 years. Their financials are horrible. Maybe Sony will buy them. Olympus is out because their finances are worse than Nikons if thats possible. So that leaves Sony and Panasonic. Don’t know much about Panasonic. Sony has terrific sensors but their cameras leave me cold. I expect that they will soon offer a CPS level soon. they are doing everything to become a pro play and their G series lenses are as good as the Canon L series stuff. I offer one off beat suggestion. The Canon Rebel SL1. It’s a DLSR, but it’s tiny pair it with the EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM and you have a small ,sweet walkaround

Scott, do I sense some mild form of gear acquisition syndrome? Just kidding. I totally understand your frustration. Not being able to shoot for such a long time and the abysmal service must have been most annoying. Happened to me once on Galapagos when my Canon DSLR quit on me and I had to rely on a point and shoot for all photos. Big bummer.
Anyways, I have used three mirrorless systems so far. Olympus Micro43, Fuji X and Sonys Full frame. Currently I am using Fuji X (X-T1 and X100T only). I would give Sony a spin since money does not seem to be a huge concern and the system has matured quite a bit with the second generation cameras. It also seems like Sony is more committed this time around and may add some professional service later on. They already have a Pro support service but to qualify there are some requirements (not sure if they would all apply to you). I personally found the system to be slightly too big for my taste so I prefer the Fuji x cameras and lenses. Still, it is smaller than a DSLR full frame system and offers somewhat professional support.
Here is a link:https://esupport.sony.com/info/1523/US/EN

Actually I wish the Fuji would have worked out. I loved the system. I have tried the Sony cameras. Their lens selection is too limited for me, their interface – menu system, etc., is in my opinion the worst on the market, and the company has always been hard (for me personally) to deal with. While I understand that there are many Sony fans, I will not be among them. I have been shooting birds primarily lately and that means the Canon 1DX MK II – while I can indeed shoot birds with mirrorless systems, and have done it, the new systems from Canon and Nikon offer wildlife / sports and other shooters the best chance of getting the shot. For everything else I was shooting Fuji and I will still shoot the X100T because I love that little camera. When I need more lens I’ll default back to the Canons and wait to see if Panasonic offers a pro-service option some day. I like Micro Four Thirds but have had trouble getting enough information from that small sensor to make big prints that match my idea of museum quality. As with everything in photography there is always a trade off 🙂 But I do appreciate you sharing the link to Sony support. Maybe someone here who uses Sony will find that beneficial. Thanks for your comment.

I have come here via a link from DP Review as I understand you are looking for feedback regarding Fuji’s level of service and repair times. This is my recent experience of Fuji UK.

On Sunday 20th March I went to the Photo Show in Birmingham (UK) and my X-T1 began behaving erratically so I handed it at the Service Check booth Fuji had there. When I picked it up about 2 hours later there was a note with it to the effect that it needed to be returned to Fuji’s Service Dept.

I rang the service department on the Monday, the 21st, explained what the report said and asked if there was any way I could be loaned a camera as I was going to visit friends in the West Country and photograph a large family reunion for them. The person I was speaking to said that if I sent the camera to them that day with guaranteed 9 am delivery on the Tuesday, they would examine it for me, carry out any necessary repairs and sent it back to me the same evening again with guaranteed next day delivery.

I did this and the camera was back in my hands before noon on the Wednesday, repaired, cleaned and despite being 14 months old no charge was made for the repair.

With regard to Fuji service I can only add to Mr Bourne’s pain in that the service I received from Fuji UK was first class, I contacted them with a problem on my XT-1 they sent a postage paid box for me to return the camera and I then had it returned to me repaired by the end of the next working week.
Well done Fuji UK, happy customer here ?

I’m really hoping that these newer players to the professional market step up their support model. I mostly had good experience with Nikon when I was NPS member out of Ontario, Canada and they had my bodies for repair. Same quick and good communication experience as what Scott talked about in this cast. But when my 3rd full frame Nikon body failed (D700, D3s and D610 all had different issues) and I had spent almost $1700 in repairs over 5yrs, I got frustrated and jumped ship. We are always looking for greener grass but I’m afraid we may never find it.

I have a technique for the focus peaking issue discussed where I try to mimic the “hunting” of the contrast detect focusing.

The problem is that the peaking is a bit too liberal when high lighting in focus areas. What I do is to note when the detail I want in focus just starts to pop up. At this point it will not be totally in focus yet, but I continue to move the focus ring just until the high light just goes out. At that point it is not totally in focus either, but on the opposite side of perfect focus. Then I move the ring half way back to the first point, and now it is spot on.

It may sound a bit complicated, but its actually quite easy. Not as fast as AF of course, but I do get close to 100% success rate when I focus manually.

Like Scott, I enjoy the design of the Fuji X100 series cameras and use one for a pocket-able backup camera. However, I’m struggling with their reliability and would like Fuji to do better. When I owned the first X100, it suddenly quit working and needed repair. When the X100S debuted, I upgraded. However, my copy has failed three times out of warranty, and ownership is getting embarrassing when I pull it out in front of a group of people and then have a confused face while I figure out that no pictures will be taken that day, but also ownership is getting long in the tooth with repairs costing a few hundred dollars apiece.

My X100S was again returned back to Fuji USA yesterday for repair, but at least this time the repair is under warranty, since the last prior repair was some 88 days and 79 images before. I am hoping there is some way to pull strings to get Fuji to swap this camera for another refurbished unit; it’d be my hope that a new roll of the dice will yield a more reliable camera. The repair number for this order is RP1603020048 in case anyone can plug Fuji. I don’t feel malice towards Fuji, but this time they sold me a lemon.

I take pride in caring for my gear, partly it’s my personality and partly because I hope to recoup resale value someday. I have followed my father’s footsteps doing amateur photography; and the Argus C3 he started me using is still working. 🙂 But that’s a mirrorless camera for which electrical problems are not possible. I did have some reliability and functionality problems with Canon 5-series before jumping ship and have experienced faultless reliability from Nikon D3X, D3S, three D4’s, the D4s and now D5. Those are storm-worthy cameras with sublime ergonomics that melt into your hand.

I also started learning the Leica Q a few weeks ago, and hope it is reliable. It is my first Leica because it includes very good autofocus not available in the M-series. Besides the very good focus-peeking you mention, the other important quality it has for manual focus is that the lens focus is mechanical, not fly-by-wire. I just haven’t yet figured out which finger is best for the focus tab, and would also prefer to shrink the size of the autofocus box for more targeted single-point focusing.

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